Inline skates, also referred to as roller blades, having multiple wheels in a straight line one directly behind the other are known in the art, as are the problems associated with their storage and use. Various covers, guards and shoes which can be attached to the skates have been developed to overcome these problems.
Anderson, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,224 disclose a removable wheel cover consisting of a front boot and rear boot connected by a pair of flexible straps. The cover is attached by the user hooking the cover over the skates rear wheel and then pulling the cover forward over the front wheel. A disadvantage of the Anderson, et. al., covers is that the flat bottom surface of the front and rear boots is relatively narrow—only approximately the width of the skate wheels so that the skate will not stand in an upright position for storage or give ankle support and stability for walking. Furthermore, attachment requires the use of one or both hands and safety dictates they be seated when making the attachment.
Kassal, U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,065 disclose a wheel immobilizing cover which includes an elongated channel with a fixed bridge to capture the front skate wheel and an adjustable rear bridge to capture the rear wheel. While the device allows for immobilization and protection of the skate wheels, it will not maintain the skate in and upright position for storage nor does it provide adequate ankle support and stability for walking.
Zurnamer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,955 discloses a formed envelope-shaped body of flexible material with a rubbery bottom to receive and contain inline skate wheels. The cover has a strap at it's rear with a clip for connecting to the back of the boot portion of the skate. While the cover does protect the skate wheels from dirt and moisture during periods of storage, the covers do not provide an adequate base for upright storage or comfortable walking.
Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,415 provides a flexible cover for attachment over the wheels of inline roller skates with an elongated holding channel and strap extensions to wrap around the users leg. This cover has the same deficiencies as the previously mentioned device, i.e., inadequate support/stability for comfortable walking and upright storage.
Smith, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,275 discloses an inline skate guard comprising a main body portion, a substantially solid base member with opposing left and right substantially rigid sidewalls extending upwardly thereform to create a wheel-receiving trough, a ground contacting bottom surface and first and second securing members for looped engagement to the respective toe and rear portions of the skate boot. In addition to the cumbersome securing means, which could also be a safety hazard if the user were to insert the loops in the wrong slots causing looseness and allowing the guard to shift, the guard does not provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate different size skates. For example, while the distance from the furthest protrusion of the front wheel to the protrusion of the rear wheel for a size 8 skate with 68 mm wheels is 12 inches, the corresponding distance for the same size skate with 76 mm wheels is 13½ inches.
Ruehlman, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,094 discloses a removable inline skate guard having an elongated channel to receive the skate wheels with an upwardly curved forward portion to inwardly receive and engage the front wheel and an adjustable bridle to attach the guard to the rear of the skate. To allow for use with different size skates, the reference teaches that the rear open end of the channel may be cut off as required to render the length of the channel more compatible with the length of the blade. After such modification, however, the guard would be suitable for use only on similarly sized skates. Furthermore, the reference guards are too narrow to support the skate in an upright position for storage or offer sufficient stability for comfortable walking.
Riley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,870 discloses an adjustable shoe for inline skates having front and rear shoe portions connected by a track that permits the front and rear portions to be moved relative to each other. A cavity in the front and rear portions is sized and shaped to receive the chassis and wheels of the skate and adjustable side plates and straps are provided to secure the shoe to the inline skate. The problem when using this shoe is that one must manually adjust the length of the track connecting the two halves of the shoe to fit the length of the wheels depending on the skate size. In addition, after the track length adjustments are made, in order to secure the skate shoe to the skate one must bend or stoop to fasten the two securing straps. This is an inconvenient method of mounting and securing the skate shoe. One cannot pass them on to another user without readjusting the length of the shoe to adapt to different size skates. If this adjustment is not performed the shoe may not fit properly causing a safety hazard.
There is a continuing need for an expandable inline skate shoe that can be used with different size skates without the need of constant adjustments. There is a further need for an inline skate shoe capable of maintaining the skate in an upright position during storage and providing a good ankle support and stability for comfortable walking. It would further be advantageous if the shoe could be attached to the inline skate without the use of straps. These and other advantages are obtained with various embodiments of the expandable inline skate shoe of the present invention which will be described in detail to follow.